Olumuyiwa Fashanu Has That Look

After marinating in 11 games of Penn State left tackle Olumuyiwa (Olu) Fashanu’s game film over the past two seasons, I’d say I’ve gotten to know who he is as a football player.

He’s damn good.

To paint a brief picture ⎯he’s a big, strong, methodical athletic blocker with a warrior spirit.

Fashanu is aggressive.

I learned watching the NFL Crunch Course as a kid, that the key is finding offensive linemen with a ‘defensive mentality,’ and Fashanu has that

⎯He’s a tone-setter.

What does Fashanu look like in pass protection?

For left tackles, it’s all about the footwork and maintaining it while sealing off the perimeter of the pocket on the quarterback’s blindside if he is right-handed. Oh yeah, Fashanu has elite feet.

He has what we call in scouting ⎯‘a quick first step’ to put his strong athletic frame and those big ‘ol arms in position while keeping backside heat off his quarterback. To add perspective to my game film study ⎯according to Pro Football Focus, in the past two seasons Fashau has played in 681 pass-blocking snaps while yielding:

ZERO SACKS

ONE HIT

16 HURRIES

That’s not too bad.

Are there any issues in pass protection?

The biggest issue is the ability to hunker down and anchor versus power bull rushes.

If edge rushers try to beat him through the back door (back edge of the pocket), he likely overshadows them on the perimeter of the pocket, or even if he starts losing leverage through the backdoor, he’s so tenacious his effort compensates and he ends up winning the rep regardless.

However, if they man up and bull rush, Fashanu can give up some ground. Notice, I said, ‘some ground.’ Eventually, he can drop his weight and stonewall pass rushers before it becomes a problem.

In scouting, they call this ‘being a little light in the a–.

Fashanu could stand to continue to strengthen his lower legs once he gets in the league. This has been an ongoing issue in my study of him.

Rarely, he can also get ‘too aggressive’ and overextend on the edge leaving himself vulnerable back to the inside and giving up some pressure. He’s improved at this, but this still shows up on the film.

Run blocking

This art almost gets lost in this pass-happy league where 32/32 teams passed the ball more than they ran it in 2023. However, it’s still important.

This is Fashanu’s biggest improvement on game film in 2023 versus 2022. He’s a more physical and aggressive ‘finisher.’ I charted 11 times in these five games from 2023 when he ‘pancaked’ defenders and drove them into the ground with all of his might.

While he wasn’t asked to block much in space by pulling or at the second level in Penn State’s offensive scheme in these games, and he was inconsistent at sustaining blocks when he did, I still was pleased with the improvement he showed overall in the run-blocking department.

#74 Olu Fashanu 6-foot-6, 319 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2024 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 98.7% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of March 15, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Olumuyiwa Fashanu Is The Next Great NFL Offensive Tackle (3 games evaluated)

Olumuyiwa Fashanu NFL Franchise Left Tackle Prospect (3 games evaluated)

2023 game film reviewed: Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, and West Virginia (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Note: 2024 NFL Scouting Combine workout ended with a thigh injury

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Fluid, fierce, and uber-competitive well-rounded prospect. A real presence. Does a nice job sealing off the perimeter in pass pro. Makes it look easy. Good body flexibility. Sturdy wide base. Demonstrated excellent balance and agility mirroring pass rushers. Tends to maintain leverage and plays at a good pad level. Uses strong and long arms to control. Hard to get around. Bodyguard mentality. A smart football player who understands and handles “X” stunts like it’s second nature. Technically solid. Strong inline run blocker. Tough. Solid effort. Works at it. Best with leverage and inconsistent sustain without leverage, but got the job done most of the time.

Final words

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Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, contributes at Yardbarker, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.